American’s single-aisle planes will get new seats — and more of them per plane. (Image: Jim Glab)

American Airlines CEO Doug Parker said this week that he has a plan to make sure his airline will never have another money-losing year. Part of that plan involves providing more perks for passengers; but another part involves cramming more seats into American’s single-aisle aircraft.

One new perk that Parker promised is free in-flight text messaging for passengers, using apps like Apple’s iMessage. It’s the same free service that Delta just announced it will offer to passengers starting October 1, and that Alaska Airlines introduced last winter. Parker didn’t give a date for the launch of American’s free texting.

He also said that in the first half of next year, American will introduce free drinks and dedicated overhead bin space for customers who buy American’s Main Cabin Extra seats, the economy class seats that provide extra legroom and priority boarding (took that from the Virgin America playbook). And he said that the airline will make more AAdvantage award travel seats available at the lowest award levels – in response to customer complaints that such seats are too hard to get.

American is also rolling out new Casper brand sleep products – including pillows, pajamas, blankets and slippers – for premium passengers on long-haul and key domestic transcon flights.

American is introducing new Casper sleep products for premium passengers. (Image: American)

But American also has plans to renovate its 737-800 and A321 aircraft (except for A321Ts specially configured for AA’s primary transcontinental markets) by installing new, thinner seats. When airlines announce the installation of thinner seats, it generally means they will cram more seats onto each plane, and that is what American intends to do.

The A321s will each get another nine seats, and the 737-800s will get another 12. However, Parker said the airline intends to stick with a standard 30-inch pitch in economy class (except for Main Cabin Extra). The cabin overhauls won’t start until 2019. And the work will not include the installation of seatback monitors for in-flight entertainment. The company noted that with nine out of 10 passengers carrying their own personal electronic devices, streaming entertainment systems will make seatback screens unnecessary in the future.

With these changes and other trends in the industry, “I don’t think we’re ever going to lose money again,”Parker said. He noted that American has earned more than $19 billion in pretax income over the past four years, helped by lower fuel prices, a lot more passenger fee revenues, and a decline in competition due to industry mega-mergers. He said that even in a “bad” year, American should earn at least $3 billion in profits.

Do you fly American Airlines much? What do you think about the changes AA pushed out this week? Please leave your comments below.

Alaska’s Premium Class customers will get free drinks and snacks in addition to more legroom.(Image: Alaska Airlines)

Alaska Airlines travelers will soon have a new seating option. The airline said that the Premium Class (premium economy) section it announced late last year will finally be available on select flights starting January 6 – and Mileage Plan elites will be eligible for free upgrades.

Effective this week, paying customers can book seats in Premium Class on flights where it is available for a surcharge of $15 to $79 over the base fare, depending on distance flown. Mileage Plan members with MVP, Gold and Gold 75 status can request a free upgrade when they book, or up to 24 hours before departure, depending on their elite level and the fare they purchase.

The new section, in the front of the main cabin, will give customers an extra four inches of legroom, with a 35-inch pitch vs. 31 or 32 in regular economy seating. As it refits its aircraft with Premium Class, Alaska is also overhauling its first class cabins, increasing legroom from 36 to 41 or 42 inches.

The new Premium Class will be on Alaska’s 737-800s and 900s. (Image: Alaska Airlines)

The airline said it expects to finish installing Premium Class by early January on half of the planes that are getting it – including 737-800s and E175s operated by SkyWest. Next year, it will add the seating on its 737-900s and -900ERs and eventually on Horizon Air planes. Sometime next year, Alaska said, it will decide whether to extend the refit to its 737-700s; it plans to eliminate its 737-400s in 2017.

The new seating category replaces Alaska’s Preferred Plus option, which only included exit row and bulkhead seats. Alaska said that persons seated in the new category will get priority boarding and free in-flight snack boxes and alcoholic drinks, and will have power outlets at each seat.

Here’s a chart of specific fleet plans:

Although Alaska said it will reduce the total number of seats on some aircraft, its chart indicates that its 737-800s will go from the current 163 total seats to 159 — only four fewer seats. As for its 737-900s and -900ERs, the total seat count will only drop from 181 to 178 — three fewer seats. It just seems like all that extra legroom going into the two front cabins might require a little more than that — unless economy seats will be pushed closer together. And the E175s will keep the same number of total seats despite the addition of 12 Premium Economy extra-legroom seats. That space has to come from somewhere.

Meanwhile, Alaska also said that starting December 5, Mileage Plan elite-level members will be eligible for free first class upgradeswhen they book award tickets in coach. The upgrades will be instant for full-fare coach awards (fare class Z) when space is available. In addition, a member’s fare class will now be used along with elite status level to determine first class upgrade priorities.

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